Top 100 NFL Running Backs - #83: Bo Jackson

Bo Jackson

Teams

Los Angeles Raiders (1987-1990)

Playoffs

Appearances - 1 (1990)

Conf Champ Games - 1 (1990)

Super Bowls - 0

Championships - 0

Awards and Honors

Pro Bowl - 1 (1990)

All-Time Ranks

Rushing Yards per Game - #31

League Leads

Yards per Rush (#2-1990, #3-1989)

Rushing Yards per Game (#4-1989, #7-1990)

Yards per Touch (#9-1990, #10-1989)

Following a senior season at Auburn in which he rushed for 1786 yards and 17 touchdowns and won the Heisman Trophy, Bo Jackson was selected with the #1 overall pick in the 1986 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. When he discovered that the Bucs had lied to him about his visit to them being allowed by the NCAA, he declared that he would never play for them, and signed with the Kansas City Royals of MLB instead.

The following year, the Los Angeles Raiders drafted Bo in the 7th round of the draft, and after they made it clear that they would allow him to play out the baseball season before joining the team each year, he decided to join the team.

He played only 7 games in his rookie season due to his time with the Royals, but picked up 554 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns, while averaging an amazing 6.8 yards per carry, and he came in second in Rookie of the Year voting despite the severely shortened season.

By his third season, he was definitely one of the top running backs in the game. He rushed for 950 yards in just 11 games and surpassed 1000 scrimmage yards, then followed it up by making the Pro Bowl in his 4th season after averaging 5.6 yards per carry, second-best in the league.

The Raiders made the playoffs for the first and only time in his career that year, but Jackson suffered a hip dislocation after being tackled in a victory over the Bengals during that postseason. The injury caused the tissue in his hip to die, requiring a hip replacement and the end of his football career, though he would play a few more years of pro baseball.

Despite never playing a full football season due to his dual career, Jackson was one of the best running backs in the league whenever he took the field. He is the only athlete in history to be named an All-Star in 2 different pro sports, and is one of only 4 players to have multiple 90-yard runs in his career. Who knows how great he could have been, but there is no doubt that he was one of the greatest to ever play the game.

Top 100 NFL Running Backs - #84: Calvin Hill

Calvin Hill

Teams

Dallas Cowboys (1969-1974)

Washington Redskins (1976-1977)

Cleveland Browns (1978-1981)

Playoffs

Appearances - 7 (1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1976,1980)

Conf Champ Games - 4 (1970,1971,1972,1973)

Super Bowls - 2 (1970,1971)

Championships - 1 (1971)

Awards and Honors

Offensive Rookie of the Year - 1969

Pro Bowl - 4 (1969,1972,1973,1974)

All-Pro First Team - 1 (1969)

 All-Time Ranks

Rushing Yards - #98

League Leads

Rushing Yards (#2-1969, #3-1973, #7-1972, #8-1974)

Rushing Touchdowns (#3-1969, #5-1971, #8-1974)

Yards per Rush (#3-1969, #7-1974)

Rushing Yards per Game (#2-1969, #4-1973, #7-1974, #9-1972)

Total Touchdowns (#3-1971)

Scrimmage Yards (#2-1973, #3-1969, #4-1972)

Yards per Touch (#4-1971,1978, #8-1969)

After playing quarterback in high school, Calvin Hill was switched to halfback in college at Yale, where he picked up 680 rushing yards and 532 receiving yards as a senior, leading to his selection as the 24th overall pick in the 1969 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys, a rarity for a player from Yale.

Hill had a very impressive rookie campaign, finishing with 942 rushing yards and 8 touchdowns, which earned him the Rookie of the Year award, despite missing two games late in the season due to a broken toe, then playing with the broken toe in the final 2 games.

The next two seasons were rough ones for Hill. He missed a month in his second season due to an infection in the foot that had been injured the year before, then hurt his back, which cost him playing time, but not games. In 1971, he tore his ACL and missed 6 games, thinking it was just a sprain, but when he returned for the NFC title game, he injured it again scoring a touchdown. The Cowboys went on to win the Super Bowl that year with Hill on the sideline.

He was finally healthy in 1972, and he became the first Cowboy in history to rush for 1000 yards in a season. He was also named to the Pro Bowl for the first time since he was a rookie, and he improved in each of the next two seasons, ending each in the Pro Bowl as well. 

Prior to that 6th season with the Cowboys, he was drafted by the Hawaiians of the World Football League. He signed a contract with them, but still played out the season with Dallas before joining the Hawaiians. He played in 3 games for them in 1975 before tearing his MCL, and the league folded before he could return from the injury. 

He signed with the Washington Redskins, but didn't get many touches, and ended up retiring after 2 seasons. The Cleveland Browns talked him out of retirement, and he joined them to play 4 more seasons as a third-down back before retiring for good in 1981.

Much like his son, NBA star Grant Hill, Calvin struggled through injuries throughout his career, which may have prevented him from reaching his full potential, but he still had several good years with the Cowboys during some of the franchise's best years, and he was an important part of a championship team, even if he missed the Super Bowl due to injury, and he is one of the best to play the game.

Top 100 NFL Running Backs - #85: Garrison Hearst

Garrison Hearst

Teams

Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals (1993-1995)

Cincinnati Bengals (1996)

San Francisco 49ers (1997-2003)

Denver Broncos (2004)

Playoffs

Appearances - 5 (1997,1998,2001,2002,2004)

Conf Champ Games - 1 (1997)

Super Bowls - 0

Championships - 0

Awards and Honors

Comeback Player of the Year - 1 (2001)

Pro Bowl - 2 (1998,2001)

All-Time Ranks

Rushing Yards - #55

Yards per Rush - #64

Rushing Yards per Game - #73

League Leads

 Rushing Yards (#3-1998, #10-2001)

Yards per Rush (#1-1998, #4-2001, #9-1997)

Rushing Yards per Game (#3-1998, #10-1997)

Scrimmage Yards (#4-1998, #10-2001)

Yards per Touch (#3-1998)

Garrison Hearst rushed for 1547 yards and 19 touchdowns as a junior, finishing 3rd in voting for the Heisman Trophy, then decided to leave school at Georgia a year early to enter the NFL Draft, where he was selected 3rd overall by the Phoenix Cardinals.

Hearst struggled with knee injuries in his first two seasons, hardly seeing the field and gaining less than 500 yards combined between those two years. When he was finally healthy enough to play consistently, he had his first 1000 yard season, though he only averaged 3.8 yards per carry, and the Cardinals decided to release him before the 1996 season.

He signed with the Bengals for that season, and his production was similar to that of his final season with Arizona, and as a result he was not asked to stay around after the season. He was picked up as a free agent by the 49ers, and that is when his career started to take off.

He rushed for over 1000 yards with the 49ers in 1997, but it was the 1998 season that made him a star and put him on this list. He set team records for rushing yards and scrimmage yards, with 1570 and 2105, both of which were broken by Frank Gore in 2006. He also led the entire league by averaging 5.1 yards per carry, and was named to the Pro Bowl.

In that season's playoffs, he rushed for 128 yards in the Wild Card round, but on the very first play of the Divisional Round, his foot got caught in the turf, and he suffered a gruesome ankle injury that was considered to be career-threatening. After surgery, he had circulatory problems that led to avascular necrosis, or the death of his ankle bone due to lack of blood supply. It was the same thing that ended Bo Jackson's career.

He spent 2 years rehabbing, and was miraculously able to return to the 49ers for the 2001 season. He started all 16 games that year, gaining 1206 yards and scoring 4 touchdowns, an being named the Comeback Player of the Year, which was well-deserved. The 49ers had missed the playoffs in the two seasons that he missed, but they went 12-4 and returned to the playoffs with his return to the field.

He remained with the 49ers for 2 more seasons, but saw his usage slowly drop off before he was released after the 2003 season. He signed with the Denver Broncos, where he was used sparingly for one year before his retirement.

Hearst's 1998 season was absolutely great, and it's sad that he nearly lost his career as soon as he began to hit his prime, but his return from the horrific injury, and his high level of play in that comeback season are extremely impressive, and he belongs on the list of the greatest to ever play the game.

Top 100 NFL Running Backs - #86: Lawrence McCutcheon

Lawrence McCutcheon

Teams

Los Angeles Rams (1972-1979)

Denver Broncos (1980)

Seattle Seahawks (1980)

Buffalo Bills (1981)

Playoffs

Appearances - 8 (1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1981)

Conf Champ Games - 5 (1974,1975,1976,1978,1979)

Super Bowls - 1 (1979)

Championships - 0

Awards and Honors

Pro Bowl - 5 (1973,1974,1975,1976,1977)

All-Pro Second Team - 1 (1974)

All-Time Ranks

Rushing Yards - #75

Yards per Rush - #86

Rushing Yards per Game - #89

League Leads

Rushing Yards (#3-1977, #4-1973,1974, #5-1976)

Rushing Touchdowns (#5-1976,1977)

Yards per Rush (#5-1973,1974)

Rushing Yards per Game (#2-1973, #3-1977, #6-1974,1976, #9-1975)

Total Touchdowns (#6-1976,1977)

Scrimmage Yards (#2-1974, #4-1973,1977, #6-1976)

Yards per Touch (#4-1973,1974)

Lawrence McCutcheon ran for over 1000 yards in both his junior and senior seasons as a Colorado State Ram, and then he was drafted in the third round of the NFL Draft in 1972 by the Los Angeles Rams.

He appeared in 3 games as a rookie, but did not get an opportunity to touch the ball even once all season. That changed the next year, when he started a 5-year run of leading the Rams in rushing, winning their division, and being named to the Pro Bowl each season.

He averaged 5.2 yards per carry in his second season, the best he would average in his career. Although he would have higher yardage totals in 3 later seasons, he was never quite as efficient as he was in that first year as a starter.

In the next season he was named to the All-Pro Second Team for the only time in his career, behind a career-high of 1517 scrimmage yards, and the Rams made it to the Conference Championship game for the first of 3 consecutive seasons, each of which ended in a loss one step short of the Super Bowl.

The next year, he set a playoff record with 202 rushing yards in a playoff game against the Cardinals, but the Rams still fell short of the Super Bowl that year. After those 5 straight years of being the team's star runner, injuries started to take effect, as he missed 9 games over the next 2 seasons and moved into a backup role on the team. 

In 1979, his final year in Los Angeles, the Rams finally broke through and reached the Super Bowl, and McCutcheon threw a touchdown pass that gave the Rams the lead in the second half, but they wouldn't score again, and ended up losing to the Steelers 31-19.

He left the Rams after the Super Bowl, recording short stints with the Broncos, Seahawks, and Bills over the next 2 seasons before calling it quits. He never won a championship, and he never led the league in any category, but he was a very good back for 5 straight seasons, and that is enough to put him here among the best to ever play the game.

Top 100 NFL Running Backs - #87: Roger Craig

Roger Craig

Teams

San Francisco 49ers (1983-1990)

Los Angeles Raiders (1991)

Minnesota Vikings (1992-1993)

Playoffs

Appearances - 11 (1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993)

Conf Champ Games - 5 (1983,1984,1988,1989,1990)

Super Bowls - 3 (1984,1988,1989)

Championships - 3 (1984,1988,1989)

Awards and Honors

Offensive Player of the Year - 1 (1988)

Pro Bowl - 4 (1985,1987,1988,1989)

All-Pro First Team - 1 (1988)

All-Pro Second Team - 1 (1985)

All-Time Ranks

Rushing Yards - #46

Scrimmage Yards - #47

Rushing Touchdowns - #60

 

League Leads

Rushing Yards (#3-1988, #8-1987, #10-1989)

Rushing Touchdowns (#8-1985, #9-1988)

Yards per Rush (#4-1988, #6-1985)

Rushing Yards per Game (#3-1988)

Receptions (#1-1985, #3-1987, #5-1986, #7-1988)

Total Touchdowns (#2-1985, #8-1983)

Scrimmage Yards (#1-1988, #2-1985, #4-1987, #6-1989, #10-1986)

Yards per Touch (#2-1985, #7-1984, #10-1988)

After 2 stellar seasons at Nebraska where he averaged over 6 yards per carry, Roger Craig was hampered by injuries as a senior, but was still able to catch the eye of the San Francisco 49ers, who drafted him in the second round of the 1983 Draft.

Craig primarily played fullback during his first 4 seasons in the league, and he scored at least 10 touchdowns in each of his first 3 seasons. He capped off his second season in the league by racking up 135 total yards and 3 touchdowns in the Super Bowl, becoming the first player ever to score 3 times in the big game, as the 49ers beat the Dolphins 38-16.

In his third season, Craig became the first player in history to get 1000 yards rushing and 1000 yards receiving in the same season, a feat that only Marshall Faulk and Christian McCaffrey have since matched. He also led the entire league in receptions that year, snagging 92 passes, an incredible feat for a running back.

He switched from fullback to running back in the middle of the 1987 season, and he exploded in 1988, rushing for a career high 1502 yards and 9 touchdowns while leading the league with 2036 yards from scrimmage. The 49ers finally returned to the Super Bowl that year, where Craig rushed for 71 yards and caught 8 passes for 101 yards, making him the first running back in history to gain more than 100 yards through the air in a Super Bowl as he earned his second ring.

His numbers came back to earth the next season, with his average carry dropping to only 3.9 yards, but he still finished with 1527 total yards, was named to his 4th Pro Bowl, and returned to the Super Bowl yet again. He "only" totaled 103 yards in the Super Bowl, and the Niners won again, dismantling the Broncos 55-10.

Craig finished the next season with only 439 rushing yards, and while the 49ers were still at the top of the league, his fumble late in the NFC championship game ended up leading to them losing to the Giants on a last-second field goal. After that season, he left as a free agent to join the Raiders, where he played for one season before moving on to Minnesota, where he finished out his career in two seasons as a backup.

Craig is the rare NFL player who never missed the playoffs in his career, and had several deep playoff runs, resulting in 3 championships, each of which he made significant contributions to. His 1000/1000 feat is still incredible, and that ability to catch the ball out of the backfield is a big part of what put him here on the list of the greatest backs of all time.

Top 100 NFL Running Backs - #88: Warrick Dunn

Warrick Dunn

Teams

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1997-2001, 2008)

Atlanta Falcons (2002-2007)

Playoffs

Appearances - 6 (1997,1999,2000,2001,2002,2004)

Conf Champ Games - 2 (1999,2004)

Super Bowls - 0

Championships - 0

Awards and Honors

Offensive Rookie of the Year - 1997

Pro Bowl - 3 (1997,2000,2005)

All-Time Ranks

Scrimmage Yards - #20

Rushing Yards - #23

Rushing Yards per Game - #87

Rushing Touchdowns - #88

League Leads

 Rushing Yards (#8-2005)

Yards per Rush (#2-2003, #5-2005, #7-2000, #9-1997)

Rushing Yards per Game (#10-2005)

Scrimmage Yards (#7-2005)

Yards per Touch (#6-1997,2003)

Warrick Dunn rushed for over 1000 yards in his final 3 college seasons, which led to his jersey being retired by Florida State, and Tampa Bay making him the #12 overall pick in the 1997 NFL Draft.

Dunn had immediate success in the NFL, amassing 1440 scrimmage yards in his rookie season, 978 on the ground and 462 through the air, which led to him being named Offensive Rookie of the Year and making the Pro Bowl.

His second season was slightly down from his first, and he saw a big dropoff in productivity in his third season, but he had a big resurgence in 2000, when he made it back to the Pro Bowl after gaining 1133 rushing yards while scoring 8 touchdowns. Unfortunately, that production did not last, as he averaged only 2.8 yards per carry the next year, leading to his release by the Bucs.

He signed with Atlanta for the 2002 season, and in 2003, while playing mostly as a backup, he had the highest yards per carry of his career, with 5.4 yards. He regained the starting role after that season, and had two more very good years with the Falcons, including his best season in 2005, when he had a career high 1416 yards and was named to the Pro Bowl for the third time in his career. 

He played two more seasons in Atlanta, but by that time he was into his 30s and his production began to slip again, and he was let go by the team after the 2007 season. He returned to Tampa Bay for a farewell season as a backup before retiring in 2008.

Dunn is one of the rare players to have his best season at age 30 or higher, and his career had a few peaks and valleys, while many backs seem to have a few good years together before falling off completely. He is in the top 20 for all-time scrimmage yards despite only ranking among the league leaders in that category once, a testament to his durability and longevity, and he deserves mention as one of the best to play the game.

Top 100 NFL Running Backs - #89: Spec Sanders

Spec Sanders

Teams

New York Yankees (1946-1948)

New York Yanks (1950)

Playoffs

Appearances - 2 (1946,1947)

Conf Champ Games - 2 (1946,1947)

Champ Games - 2 (1946,1947)

Championships - 0

Awards and Honors

Pro Bowl - 1 (1950)

All-Pro First Team - 2 (1946,1947)

All-Time Ranks

League Leads

Rushing Yards (#1-1946,1947, #4-1948)

Rushing Touchdowns (#1-1946,1947, #3-1948)

Yards per Rush (#2-1946,1947, #9-1948)

Rushing Yards per Game (#1-1946,1947, #5-1948)

Total Touchdowns (#1-1946,1947, #8-1948)

Receiving Touchdowns (#10-1946)

Scrimmage Yards (#1-1946,1947, #10-1948)

Yards per Touch (#3-1946, #8-1947)

Spec Sanders only rushed for 365 yards in his junior year at Texas, but it was enough for the Washington Redskins to draft him 6th overall in the 1942 NFL Draft. He instead decided to join the Navy to fight in World War II, then returned to Texas to finish his degree. In 1946, at the age of 28, he signed as a free agent with the New York Yankees of the AAFC.

Sanders played nearly every position with the Yankees. He was primarily a tailback, but he also played defensive back, punter, and quarterback. In his first season, he led the league in nearly every rushing category, with 709 rushing yards and 6 touchdowns, and 968 scrimmage yards, while leading the Yankees to the championship game, where they fell to the Cleveland Browns 14-9, with Sanders scoring the only touchdown for the losing team.

The next year was one of the greatest seasons ever for a running back. Sanders set league records for rushing yards and touchdowns, with 1432 and 18, neither of which would be surpassed for over a decade. He also set a single-game record with 250 yards in a game, even though he was pulled midway through the third quarter of a blowout. They returned to the championship game, but lost to the Browns again, despite Sanders rushing for 40 yards, passing for 89 and gaining 32 yards on a kick return.

Sanders suffered a knee injury the next season which made him less effective, and he decided to retire after the season. After one season away from the game, he came out of retirement to play for the newly formed New York Yanks of the NFL, but played only safety and punter that year to protect his knees. He set an NFL record that year with 13 interceptions, a number that has only been reached 2 times since. He retired for good after that season.

Sanders had the shortest career of anyone on this list, playing only 4 total seasons, with only 3 as a running back, but he was so great, especially in the 1947 season, that he still made the list of the greatest players of all time anyway.